-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Despite periodic violence and continued unresolved issues , Sudan 's president on Sunday authorized the reopening of all border crossings with South Sudan , state news reported .

President Omar al-Bashir ordered the reopening of all passages -- by land , water and air -- between his African nation and its newly independent neighbor South Sudan , the official Sudan News Agency -LRB- SUNA -RRB- reported .

The president met Sunday with Foreign Minister Ali Ahmad Karti and Mutrif Sadiq , Sudan 's recently appointed ambassador to South Sudan , to ask his help in carrying out the directives and make normalizing relations between the two countries a priority .

Sadiq said after the meeting that he had been instructed by the president `` to work together with the concerned authorities '' to reopen the borders , SUNA reported .

Sudan was embroiled in a bloody two-decade civil war that ended with a peace agreement in 2005 . A referendum six years later led to South Sudan 's secession , which became official in July 2011 .

The two nations , however , have remained at odds since then on a number of hot-button issues . Their leaders have faced international pressure , from the likes of the United Nations and the African Union , to resolve their disputes and come to a lasting agreement .

They made some headway toward that end late last month -- though the deal they reached failed to address a number of disputes .

Sudan , South Sudan reach partial agreement

During talks in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa , al-Bashir and South Sudan 's President Salva Kiir agreed to resume oil exports and set up a demilitarized zone , as well as principles related to border demarcation . Yet they could not reach a deal on the status of Abyei , a disputed region claimed by both countries , which has been a contentious issue since the South declared independence on July 9 of last year .

The partial agreement was applauded by , among others , U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. President Barack Obama .

Photos : South Sudan 's gun culture

Sudan and South Sudan have been under increasing pressure from the African Union and Security Council to resolve the matter peacefully .

In April , Sudan and South Sudan slipped close to all-out war with a series of tit-for-tat air raids and ground attacks that prompted the African Union and Security Council to push the two sides to act .

Still , the recent political progress has not stopped violence in the region .

Peacekeepers die in Darfur attack

Last week , four peacekeepers with the African Union-United Nations Mission in Sudan 's Darfur region were killed and eight injured in an ambush by unidentified attackers .

UNAMID Force Commander and officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba condemned what he called a `` criminal attack , '' demanding Sudan 's government `` bring the perpetrators to justice . ''

Sudan military plane crash kills 15

Supermodel 's South Sudan homecoming

CNN 's Amir Ahmed contributed to this report .

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Sudan 's president OKs the opening of all borders with newly independent South Sudan

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The two nations have been at odds on a number of issues , including their border

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Al-Bashir tells his ambassador normalizing relations is a priority , state news reports